I woke up this morning a little later than usual.  When I opened my eyes and looked out the window, there was a bright blue sky.  This was a rare treat because normally I am greeted with just a hint of light on the horizon, and even when the morning is well on its way to high noon, the skies have been gray and gloomy lately.  But I had gotten to bed a little late last night, so I let myself sleep until I was ready to get up.  So nice!  It is one of the joys of having a 17 year-old that can get himself up and off to Seminary without me.

But I can't lounge the day away in bed – there are too many things to do.  I need to keep pacing myself, but that moving forward process has to show some progress or I can easily become discouraged and not move at all.  All by myself, it is easy to make executive decisions.  In a matter of 2 hours I had filled one very large trash can, separated un-redeemable metal to the scrap pile and gotten potential garage sale and "keeper" bins out of the danger of rain.  It's dirty work, but there is something very rewarding about purging things that really don't have much, if any value. 

Meanwhile, I had gotten a variety of calls that were so very different from each other that I was quite astounded!  Nothing particularly earth-shattering in nature regarding mylife, but a sharp contrast from one to the other.   One call was asking an easy favor, one sharing a bit of excitement, one very enthusiastic and one bitter and complaining.  It made me think…I know, everything makes me think, but when my hands are in soap and water, I like to think and sometimes it leads to deep thoughts about life.  So as I was washing my filthy, dirty hands with my Bath and Body Works Sunburst Tangerine hand soap, hiding inside a friendly Jack-o-Lantern face, I thought: Wow!  I am a truly fortunate woman! 

I can find joy in the little things even when not everything is going my way.  I have blue skies to greet my morning.  A good dose of dirty work to keep me humble and anxiously engaged in a good cause.  What a blessing to have indoor plumbing to clean up when I'm done.  I have an extensive  collection of my favorite scents of Bath and Body Works hand soaps that delight my senses and make me happy to wash my hands.  I have enough family and friends with positive attitudes to bear me up when I'm feeling down and I have enough good sense to know the kind of attitude that I never want to emulate.  What can top this realization?  Salmon roll.

We had a small reception last Sunday after a beautiful organ recital, given by a friend, Marilyn.  Several other friends helped with the refreshments, which were all delicious.  When Scott B. offered to provide his FAMOUS Salmon Roll, I pleaded for a little extra so I could take some home.  I do dearly love his Salmon Roll.  He sweetly obliged.  I didn't take a picture, so you will just have to visualize:  salmon, capers and fresh dill, surrounded by cream cheese, rolled up and then in pine nuts…served on slices of a fresh baguette.  I am making it last for three days!  Anyway, with my clean and freshly Tangerine scented hands, I spread a thin layer of the Salmon Roll over the slice of bread and thought to myself, "If I were the Queen of England, I would not be dining on anything better than this!  This repast is fit for a Queen!"

I am fortunate in so many ways!